3 D Printing 16mm models

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philipy
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:43 pm

They look fabulous Trevor, both the printing and the painting.
Philip

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:48 pm

Trevor Thompson wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 2:58 pm I have looked at Sketchup and it has "textures" for brickwork and the like but they are just flat images - cant find anything like what Tinkercad can do.
AFAIK, Sketchup doesn't "do" 3d textures, just, as you say, pictures to wrap around a model to give the graphic impression of an architectural model.
I don't know if there might be anything in their "3-D warehouse" but if so, whatever there is would need serious surgery to make it fit a specific building, i think.
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by ge_rik » Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:00 pm

philipy wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 3:48 pm AFAIK, Sketchup doesn't "do" 3d textures, just, as you say, pictures to wrap around a model to give the graphic impression of an architectural model.
I don't know if there might be anything in their "3-D warehouse" but if so, whatever there is would need serious surgery to make it fit a specific building, i think.
How did you do your platform edging?

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:30 pm

ge_rik wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:00 pm
How did you do your platform edging?
In Sketchup, I drew a suitable sized rectangle for one slab and extruded it to the required thickness. Multiplied it and extruded the connecting strip through the centre of the set. Then manually rounded and/or chipped the edges of each slab randomly.

When it was all glued to the rest of the foamboard platform substructure it was sprayed with primer and then painted with a textured stone paint and washed with diluted assorted brownish/yellowish/greyish acrylics.

FWIW, I did the same thing with small square blocks to form the back edge of the platform to retain the platform surface which is Postcrete sitting inbewteen the blocks.
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:36 pm

I think I have mastered the issue of printing stuff downloaded from Thingiverse.

I thought I might have sorted the problem with the figures from Makehuman/Blender. But I have not. I am still getting the same problem of tubular faces.

It might still be that the slicing software is adding thicker supports than I thought it was. I have printed a sitting figure, and chipped away at the tubular face. I think that the real face is underneath the tube. It is difficult to be sure but here is a photo for you to make your own mind up:
IMG_1223.jpg
IMG_1223.jpg (326.74 KiB) Viewed 4234 times
As an asideI wondered if the problem was holes in the mesh. I imported the .stl files produced by Blender into Flashprint. This has a good repair facility - so I let it repair the file and I re-exported it as an .stl file. This I used to slice it in the photon slicing software. I added manual supports. That resulted in the print in the photo above.

I am going to try printing one of these figures with no supports to see what happens. I could also try it on its back again or perhaps at an angle.

If neither of those makes any difference I might have to try different slicing software.

Clutching at straws really. Any ideas gratefully received!

Trevor

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:52 pm

This is beyond my practical experience with the resin printer, however, I'd be inclined to do two things:
1) Try Chitubox slicer which has a much better rep than the Anycubic "Photon Workshop" .
2) Watch those videos that I linked to a few days ago, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xolVj0izVo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR-0tbBbyXk) which show how best to orientate a model and then get the supports where they are needed.
I haven't actually printed one it but I have played with it on the PC and it seems reasonably simple once you've been shown how. If they can get those weird spikey monsters to print, we should be able to do fairly basic figures.
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by metalmuncher » Fri Jan 01, 2021 7:54 pm

Is there a way to view the slicer's output, layer by layer? If the odd face issues are visible in the sliced output, you know it's a slicer settings problem, otherwise you would know it's some problem with the printer not producing what the slicer software is expecting.

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:21 pm

I think it is the slicer software. There is a way of viewing the output layer by layer. It isn't actually easy to detect the neck thinning - probably because it isn't there!

What confuses me is that it works fine with the figures from thingiverse but not the figures from Blender. That is why I was suspicious of the mesh having holes.

If my experiments with no supports and orientation don't improve things I will try the different slicing software and look at the videos.

Trevor

PS I will get there in the end!

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by FWLR » Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:41 am

Trevor thank you for your'e invaluable help with me on trying to get a print to load. Still loads to learn and it is frustrating and enjoyable in a strange way :roll:

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Sat Jan 02, 2021 12:33 pm

FWLR wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 10:41 am Trevor thank you for your'e invaluable help with me on trying to get a print to load. Still loads to learn and it is frustrating and enjoyable in a strange way :roll:
No problem - happy to help.

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Sat Jan 02, 2021 12:39 pm

Back to the figures.

This morning I have the result of printing at an angle and with what I thought were a few slender supports, added manually.

Here is the result:
IMG_1225.jpg
IMG_1225.jpg (293.44 KiB) Viewed 4103 times
You can see that the face is clear now. But look at that heavy support column under the back and head. I didn't add those - nor did I add the supports under the feet. I didn't press "auto supports" either. So the slicer has added them on its own - and gives me no control of them.

I still don't understand why it does this with Makehuman/blender figures and not the ones from thingiverse.

Anyway I am going to try the other slicing software and follow those videos!

Trevor

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:13 pm

Trevor Thompson wrote: Sat Jan 02, 2021 12:39 pm I am going to try the other slicing software and follow those videos!
Chitubox does allow you to vary the size and shape of the touchpoint of the support, and to bend supports so that they come at an angle not necessarily ina straight line from the bed.
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by FWLR » Sat Jan 02, 2021 2:50 pm

It looks like your'e doing something for a sc-fi horror film with the monster coming out of the shell or something Trevor.... :lol: :lol: :lol:


Looks a lot better though.. :thumbright: :thumbright:

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Sun Jan 03, 2021 10:48 am

It looks like something out of the lord of the rings fits to me!

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by FWLR » Mon Jan 04, 2021 9:53 am

Trevor Thompson wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 10:48 am It looks like something out of the lord of the rings fits to me!
.............. :laughing3: :laughing3: ...............

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Mon Jan 04, 2021 10:46 am

I am now getting somewhere with the figures created in "Makehuman/Blender".

Firstly I have tried the "Chitubox" slicing software. It does seem a much more user friendly and versatile package for working with complex shapes like figures. However the BIG thing you need to know is that it does not work with "Anycubic Photon Zero" printers. At least this printer is not one which it can generate sliced files for.

Bear in mind that I got this particular printer because it was very cost effective, and although the size it can print is small, it is big enough for 16mm figures - which is what I specifically wanted it for. Dinah paid significantly less than £100 for it as a special offer.

Back to slicing. Although I couldn't use the Chitubox software the videos were very useful. I came away having a much clearer idea if how to orientate the figure and how to organise the supports. So I am back to using the printers own slicing software.

So some photos of my developing understanding:
IMG_1226.jpg
IMG_1226.jpg (378.94 KiB) Viewed 4354 times
My first attempt at a seated first class figure. With a top hat. You can see that there is a big block of solid support under the figures bottom. There was also a tube of resin around the face - and I have prized some of that off before taking this photo. In doing that some of the brim of the hat came away.

I next tried printing it at an angle;
IMG_1227.jpg
IMG_1227.jpg (363.25 KiB) Viewed 4354 times
Now there are a different set of issues, including the top of the hat missing. Most significantly there are blocks of support under ankles bottom and back. These would not be so easy to remove in a way which didn't affect the end result.

I have now realised that the BIG problem with these figures is that there are problems with the "mesh". In other words the figure consists of s set of triangles interconnected. There are overlaps, holes and triangles which are not connected. So the slicing software is having problems working out what to print. I need to repair the defects. That is the difference between the figures from thingiverse and these figures. The thingiverse figures don't have problems with the mesh, so they slice properly.


I remembered a comment that Steve or Philip made some time ago about fixing figures like this and the word Meshmixer seemed to ring a bell - so I searched for it. It turns out to be a reputable mesh repair tool! So I have installed it. Now trial and error leads to the next photo:
IMG_1228.jpg
IMG_1228.jpg (360.73 KiB) Viewed 4354 times
You can see that I have turned the figure so that the front rim of the hat is pointing upwards. I know its on its back - but that is so that the front of the hat doesn't need supports. The supports under the legs are ones that I created manually - but there is still a block of resin under the back. Not very big and therefor the figure is usable. There is no block under the hat, so that is an improvement.
Now I have looked at some videos on using meshmixer and think I have a better understanding of how to repair the mesh. So I think the mesh is now repaired and this is the result:
IMG_1229.jpg
IMG_1229.jpg (366.75 KiB) Viewed 4354 times
That is how I think it should come out! The supports are all individual and the whole figure has printed cleanly.

Success!

Trevor

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by philipy » Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:04 pm

Well done indeed.
Not only for solving the problem, which looks brilliant, but also for getting Meshmixer to work. I've tried several times and simply don't understand all the jargon type options.
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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by FWLR » Mon Jan 04, 2021 12:24 pm

Thats brilliant Trevor. Well done, perseverance does pay off. Encouraging to know that someone has cracked what seems a bit of an headache to master. I am having enough with my filament printing never mind resin.... :roll: :roll:

So I think I will keep with what I have got... :thumbright: :thumbright:

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:42 pm

I now have that figure finished - well ready to paint:
IMG_1231.jpg
IMG_1231.jpg (365.52 KiB) Viewed 4335 times
and of course I got too cocky:
IMG_1232.jpg
IMG_1232.jpg (307.08 KiB) Viewed 4335 times
Look no head! Too few supports under the head. so the video was correct. Support it really well to avoid this sort of failure. I now have to clean out the tank before I can print any thing else.

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Re: 3 D Printing 16mm models

Post by Trevor Thompson » Mon Jan 04, 2021 5:47 pm

I think its time I started to use different threads for different topics - as this is getting a bit confusing. Too much dotting around between different topics.

So to finish off the Dandy wagon and the carriage wagon topic. Final photo of both:
IMG_1236.jpg
IMG_1236.jpg (369.59 KiB) Viewed 4334 times
Trevor

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